Battle against cybercrime

Criminal activity is rampant in cyberspace.

Last year, more than 286 million distinct threats were discovered on the web by the online security company Symantec - more than the company says it had unearthed over the past decade.

That means there is an average of nine new online threats a second.

"It is a big trend," says Bulent Teksoz, the cyber security strategist for the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) at Symantec. "The Middle East is part of the trend."

Six per cent of the world's spam now originates from the Middle East, up from 5 per cent in 2009. But while residents of the UAE are becoming more aware of internet threats such as bogus e-mails, citizens from countries including Saudi Arabia are increasingly falling victim to attacks.

Businesses in the region may also be at risk. Last year, cyber criminals targeted a number of publicly traded, multinational corporations, as well as small businesses around the world to steal intellectual property or cause damage.

Often they researched a key individual within a company then employed tailored attacks to gain entry into that person's networks.

Experts anticipate the problems will only get worse as more business professionals and users buy gadgets that can connect to the web, including smartphones and tablet computers.

It may not come as any surprise that online security companies recommend antivirus and protection software to guard against web-based threats. After all, fear - or "awareness" as some call it - is how these companies make money.

But some companies have started offering free online tools that businesses and private users can access.

Norton recently launched a Cybercrime Index, which looks like a stock exchange chart but highlights daily threats.

"It gives you a rating of the cybercrime on that particular day and how likely [it is] you could be a victim," says Tamim Taufiq, the head of consumer sales in Mena for Symantec, which oversees Norton's products.

nparmar@thenational.ae

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Battle against cybercrime

Online crime has hit a record high, but new online tools can help deter cyber-criminals.